NASAA Honors Outstanding Arts Agency Leaders

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) will recognize the exemplary leadership of two individuals during its annual convening in Anchorage, Alaska, September 18-20. Robert C. Booker, Executive Director of the Arizona Arts Commission, is the 2006 recipient of the Gary Young Award for outstanding individual leadership. Delores Fery, commissioner and former chair of the Idaho Commission on the Arts, is this year's Distinguished Public Service Award honoree.

2006 Gary Young Award
Bob Booker

The 2006 recipient of the Gary Young Award is Robert Booker, Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Bob Booker began his career as an intern at the South Dakota Arts Council under the tutelage of Charlotte Carver and Dennis Holub. He joined the Minnesota State Arts Board in 1985 as a program officer, served as deputy director from 1990 to 1996, and was selected to head the agency in 1997. Notable among Booker's numerous accomplishments in Minnesota were his efforts to build and sustain partnerships. He understood and invested in the power of collaboration to maximize organizational achievement.

Booker was one of the field's cultural tourism "pioneers." He and a handful of representatives from other state agencies came together in 1996 to create the "Explore Minnesota" store at the Mall of America--the first statewide one-stop information center for arts, cultural, historical and recreational information. That cultural tourism partnership has expanded to include promotion of arts and cultural amenities along Minnesota's scenic byways, and other cooperative efforts to promote cultural heritage tourism in Minnesota. In 2001, the Minnesota State Arts Board was one of thirteen states selected to participate in the Wallace Foundation's national START initiative to increase participation in the arts.

In June 2005, Booker received the Minnesota Crafts Council's Lifetime Achievement Award. Two months later, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty proclaimed August 15, 2005, as Robert "Bob" C. Booker Day in Minnesota, recognizing Booker for his leadership on the Governor's Residence Council--where he served under four Minnesota governors.

Booker has been an engaged and active leader at the regional and national level. He served on the board of Arts Midwest from 1997-2004, where he was a tireless advocate for regional, national and international exchanges. Booker has been a board member of the National Assembly of State Arts Agency (NASAA) since 1999, serving as its president in 2004 and 2005--promoting and representing state arts agency interests to Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts and the field. He has served on a variety of state arts agency panels across the country as well as panels for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Booker began his tenure as executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts in January, 2006, replacing the recently retired and legendary Shelley Cohn. According to Cohn, Bob "jumped right in to acquaint himself with new constituents and stakeholders, including a legislative body much different than Minnesota. People in Arizona have immediately reached out to him and him to them, in keeping with his open and gregarious style. One of Bob's passions is finding appropriate leadership roles for young and emerging staff leadership. He has immediately done that here in Arizona in his hiring decisions and in taking younger staff to Washington to connect with national leadership."

This year's Gary Young Award recognizes Bob for his inspirational leadership at the state, regional and national levels, his dedication to the artistic community and his commitment to nurturing creativity in the next generation of arts leaders.

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2006 Distinguished Public Service Award
Dee Fery

Dee Fery has been a champion of the arts in Idaho for more than 20 years. Her exceptional commitment was recognized by Governor Philip Batt in 1996 when she was awarded a silver medallion for her distinguished service as chairwoman of the Idaho Commission on the Arts (ICA). During her tenure as Chair of the ICA, she also chaired the Governor's Arts Awards. In addition, Fery represented Idaho as a board member of Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) from 1997-2001. She will complete her third four-year term as an ICA commissioner in July 2007.

Fery has been involved in the planning of several important state and national conferences that have brought widespread visibility to Idaho. Most recently, she chaired the NASAA 2005 Annual Conference Host Committee, which spearheaded a significant fund-raising campaign in order to bring the NASAA meeting to Boise.

The founder and past chairwoman of the Boise Art Museum's Collector's Forum and Chair of the National Advisory Council for the Boise Art Museum, Fery has been an active volunteer and philanthropist for all major arts groups in Boise. Her grassroots community involvement also includes establishing the Learning Lab at the Boise Public Library, chairing the Albertson College Women's Spring Symposium, and chairing the Festival of Trees Gala. She is a charter member of several organizations including the Idaho Historical Auxiliary and the Sun Valley Arts and Humanities/Boise.

In 1999, she and her husband combined their mutual interests in nature and the arts by funding the Idaho Shakespeare Festival's new outdoor park, The William Shakespeare Park. Dee and her husband John were honored with the 1999 Ralph J. Comstock, Jr., Light of Philanthropy Award as distinguished citizens of Idaho.